


Insecure

by The_Disney_Geek



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Body Image, Eating Disorder, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-07-24 02:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7489035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Disney_Geek/pseuds/The_Disney_Geek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Sometimes, you just can't take back what you say'</p>
<p>R2 is a cocky robot. Always was, always will be. But when push comes to shove, more than half of the insults he throws are not actually true to what he believes.<br/>3PO knows that. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sadly, I don't own Star Wars. (Cries in corner)
> 
> Also, in case you peeps are wondering, the time period of the story is in between ROTJ and TFA. So everything's pretty chill.

 

"R2! R2-D2, where are you?" The golden droid trotted along. "He has to be here somewhere..." C-3PO whined. The scenery was quite beautiful though. D'Qar is much better than Hoth or Tatooine. Han and Leia decided to start a new life on this peaceful planet. Luke decided it would be good to stay close to his sister. Now, life is more peaceful than it's ever been. 

"He must be in the garage." The protocol droid tutted. "Always overworking himself..."  
The garage was massive and in it was the Millennium Falcon, in case of emergencies, and R2's tool boxes and equipment.  
As the fussy droid waddled in, he heard a crumpling sound on the gray, stone floor. The droid looked down. As his optical censors adjusted, he saw what seemed to be a magazine. Naturally his nosiness got the best of him and the droid picked the magazine up, flipping through pages. Inside it were pictures of the latest droid models.  
"These new models, there so, so thin..." 3PO tutted once more. "So unhealthy looking. Why the maker would Captain Solo have-"

"The magazine is MINE, not Solo's." The astromech beeped as he steered his way up to 3PO.

"Oh! Well that makes more-"

"And they aren't unhealthy looking! Literally everything looks skinny in comparison to you." R2 joked, doing a little mechanical laugh.

"How rude!"

"Yeah, Jabba the Hutt got nothing compared to your size! Now come on, loser. Han will probably want us to serve dinner tonight." And with that, the spunky little droid rolled away, expecting his counterpart to follow him.

"I can't possibly be that fat! That little bucket is just messing with me." Yet the golden droid couldn't let go of the words R2 had said. He has trusted that astromech with escape plans and different quests for maker knows how long! 

"His words must mean something." The droid whispered, alone, in front of a large mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm OBSESSED with Star Wars. And the droids are way too cute. I wanted to do a fic since there really isn't a lot of droid fics and that completely SUCKS. Tbh, I'm going to probably do more droid fics whether this is a success or not. XD
> 
> Stay cool nerds ;)


	2. Like a Corset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapters may vary in length. I know the first one was really short, but it was just kind of an intro to the rest of the story.  
> Still don't own Star Wars :(

"3PO, can you help me with something?"  
The droid heard the voice from Leia's room, and got up to be of assistance. Once he arrived, he noticed the young woman applying makeup through her bedroom mirror. Seeing the droid through the glass, she stood up.  
"I need your help putting my corset on. Han and I are going out tonight." 

"Oh! How lovely! But, um. I can't say I've ever seen a device like this before..." 3PO mumbled holding the corset the wrong way round. Leia giggled. Typical of a male. 

"Don't worry, it's easy. Just put it around my waist and tie the strings at the back."

"Oh, but I don't want to hurt you!"

"It'll only hurt for a moment. It just helps me look thinner for a while. Then I'll take it off, and I'll be just fine again."

As 3PO was doing the procedure, Leia's words replayed over and over in his mind  
'Tie the strings at the back'  
'Helps me look thinner'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Just make sure Chewie doesn't touch the Falcon. I don't want him doing anything until I get back. And keep an eye out for goldenrod and the trash can. They usually get in loads of trouble when nobody's around." Han instructed.

"I got it Han. I won't let em do anything stupid." Luke assured him.

"See ya later, kid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You okay, 3PO? You've been kinda quiet. And that's really saying something." Luke asked as the droid washed the dishes left in the sink.

3PO turned to face Luke. "I'm perfectly happy, Master Luke." His tone of voice said otherwise though. 

"Yeah, I don't believe you." Luke sighed, tired of how secretive the droid was becoming. "Just tell me what's up. That's an order."

3PO, with his back still facing Luke, whispered softly and timidly, "Do you think I'm fat?"  
The droid's usual perky stature, now looked like a scared slouch. 

Luke opened his mouth, completely baffled by the huge self esteem plunge that he just witnessed. After a few seconds that felt like forever, Luke, choosing his words carefully, decided to say, "Well, to answer your question, no. No, your not fat at all. Who exactly made you think otherwise?"

"The one droid I want to impress." Is what 3PO said in his thoughts. 

"Oh, nobody..." Is what he said out loud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Tie the strings at the back'  
'Helps me look thinner'

Alone in the bathroom, C-3PO plays with a single red wire, one of many attached to his waistline. Now, firmly grabbing the wire, the protocol droid forcefully pulls it, feeling his black, rubber waist, tighten. 

If 3PO could smile, he'd be grinning. His reflection in the large mirror showed a thinner version of himself, similar of the ones from R2's magazine. 

But will it be enough?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3PO's getting some idea's ...
> 
> R2 and the rest notice some changes.


	3. Confrontation

R2 stared at the crumpled magazine still left in the garage. The droids in there must have been fake. No droid could ever function being THAT tiny.  
"Guess 3PO was right. They do look kinda freaky. I really should just throw this away." The astromech said in his thoughts. R2 pushed the flimsy paper into a nearby trash can and steered his way back to where Luke was taking care of him for the night.

"Where is that whiney golden bastard anyways?" R2 beeped. It's not like he could ask anyone where the protocol droid was. Nobody would understand him. After whirling around for several hours, the stubby astromech gave up and called it a night.

Oblivious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your back! Have fun?" Luke asked, helping Han and Leia through the door.

"Heh. The fun ain't over yet." Han smirked. Leia rolled her eyes. 

"Too much information." Luke mumbled. The young jedi looked around to make sure the droids were not in sight. He then looked back at the scoundrel. "There's something wrong with 3PO. Can one of you check him tomorrow while I'm gone?"

"You look worried. How serious is the problem?" Leia asked, a little worried herself now. 

"Maybe I'm just overreacting but-" Luke shook his head. "I just want him to be alright."

"I'll take a look at him, kid. Just don't stress. It's only a droid." Han assured, clearly unimpressed by the problem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, trash can. I need to take a look at your friend. Go get him for me." Han ordered. R2 whistled, deciding to obay for once. Truth was, R2 hadn't seen 3PO since 2 days ago. 

"I hope he's okay..." The astromech thought about the possible reasons as to why his shiny friend would be distancing himself. "Was he upset I called him fat?" R2 pondered. "Naw, he couldn't actually believe I thought that of him! It's just the usual banter that we have. R-right?" The little droid had never doubted himself so much before. "He knows I like him the way he is..."  
But the voices inside R2's dome were not very convincing. 

The bathroom. The one place R2 hadn't looked yet. "But why would he be in there?" The stubby droid questioned as he steered himself inside. There he found his companion, sitting, turned off in a dark corner. Switching him on, C-3PO immediately stood, revealing just how thin he had become the night before.  
"R2! How long was I out? Oh, I hope nobody's upset with me!" The protocol droid rambled on until R2 completely hushed him.

"What the fuck happened to you?! Your waist is practically nonexistent!" R2 cried, scared for his friend. If he gets any thinner, he'll crush his circuits, deactivating himself permenantly.

"I-I thought y-you'd like it..." 3PO whispered, attempting to hide his waist with his rigid arms. Unaware of his counterpart's vulnerable and timid state, R2 continued to rant.

"Well, I DONT! You think I ENJOY seeing you KILL yourself?!" The astromech fumed, but halted after he saw black, oily tears fall from 3PO's optical censors, staining his beautiful chrome gold face plating.  
"Aw, 3PO, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault isn't it?" R2 gave the equivalent of a sigh. "We gotta get you better. Han maybe has some tools to get your waist down to its original size."

"B-but I was f-fat before. I don't want to be f-fat again..." The protocol droid quietly stuttered. 

"The waist fixing is the easy part. It's making sure that he's not going to do it again that's the hard part." R2 contemplated to himself.  
"You were NEVER fat. EVER. I was just being a jerk and I went too far. It's gunna take a while for you to believe me, but eventually, you'll see what I see..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Threeps is getting help now, so therapy time begins. I know the chapters are still pretty short, but I want to make sure that they are good, not long. Long doesn't necessarily mean good. Quality is more important than length in my eyes.


	4. But Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not uploading in a while. Hope this chapter would make up for it though.

"What the hell happened?" Han mumbled as he stared directly at 3PO. The poor droid was a little hurt by the comment, believing that Han was implying that he was overweight. It was the opposite though. "Ya need more oil. It's the only way to loosen your waist." Han told the two droids as he reached for the phone to call Luke. The smuggler motioned the droids away as the number was dailing. Finally someone picked up.  
"Luke, when are ya on your way home?" 

"I'm on my way now. Um, is there something wrong?" 

"Yeah. Uh, your droid has kinda lost a bit of weight. By a bit, I mean a whole lot." 

"W-what? Droids can't lose weight!" 

"That's what I thought! But, goldenrod here, he looks like he's gunna collapse."

"Aw geez, I knew something was wrong! I'm almost there, just give me 10 minutes." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I hope I haven't scared them. They all look awfully bothered..." 3PO spoke, looking over at the huddled circle. Luke, Han, and Leia were all whispering, presumably about him. 

"You gave everyone kind of a scare...You still haven't really told me WHY exactly, you did this to yourself." R2 beeped to his counterpart. 

"I just, well I, um, I wanted to looked like the droids o-on the magazine." 

"Well, I figured that, but why do you want to look like them?"

"I thought you didn't like the way I looked before. I-I want to make you happy, R2. I just don't understand. You marveled over the droids on your magazine. And now that I look similar to them, you hate my body even more than you did before!" 3PO fumed, but he looked more frustrated with himself, than he did with R2. The poor protocol droid was so upset, he began shaking out of pure distress.

"Threeps, your body was PERFECT before!" 

But the protocol droid was going to need a lot more convincing. 3PO leaned himself against the wall, hiding his face in his hands. R2 decided to listen to what was being said in the little circle near the far corner. 

"I'm really worried about him. He asked me if he was fat yesterday." Luke whispered.

"Sounds like he has some sort of an eating disorder. Well, maybe not that since he's a droid, but definitely body dysmorphia." Leia bit her lip.

"We'll have to make sure he doesn't skip his oil reloads. That'll help him gain weight" Han added.

If R2 wasn't a droid, he'd be grinning. Help! Finally!  
3PO on the other hand had only overheard the phrase 'gain weight' and was determined not to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"3PO, please just take the oil!" 

"That really won't be necessary, Master Luke. I'm not very hungry at the moment."

"Your NEVER hungry!"

"Well, I don't really need food, Master Luke. And besides, I could do without it for a while, if you know what I mean."

"No, 3PO. I don't know what you mean." 

"I suppose I could drop a few, is what I'm trying to say."

"There really is something wrong, isn't there..." Luke stared sadly at the decaying droid in front of him. "I don't understand. You always had such a lovely body. Why? Why did you change it?" 

"I-I just wasn't happy with it."

"But why?!"

"Nobody told me I had a nice body before, so why should I believe it now?!" The protocol droid began to cry, as he apologized for losing his temper. "I'm so sorry, Master Luke. You deserve so much better..." He whispered. Before he could continue, Luke wrapped his arms around the frail droid, wiping away the tears.

"It's ok, 3PO. You'll be better soon. Everything will be better soon."


	5. Moving Backwards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, first of all, I want to say that I'm extremely sorry for not uploading in literally the longest time. It's just that school has just started and I have a heavy workload cause I'm taking some advanced classes. Also, marching band has basically taken up my entire life. Band geeks, ya know what I mean. Hope you enjoy anyways:)

"Ok, buddy. Let's get some oil in ya." Han slapped his hand on the droids narrow shoulder, making him flinch a bit. 3PO was nervous about receiving more oil, but at the same time, he didn't want to disappoint Luke and R2. He slowly watched Han pour the enormous tube of oil into a hole in his neck, filling the droid up.  
"Fat arse..." 3PO ridiculed to himself as he was returning to his original (fat) size. Han must have noticed his change in demeanor cause he gave the protocol droid a sympathetic look.  
"Look, goldenrod, we'd like for ya to stick around for a while. You'd get deactivated for sure with the path you were going down." Han took the tube out of 3PO's neck, giving him one last smile before disappearing into his room.  
Ignoring what Han said, the droid squished the new excess 'fat' around his middle. "Squishy. I've turned squishy." He whispered solemnly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Looking good, Threeps!" R2 beeped excitedly.

'He's just saying that. He really is just disgusted by how obese you've become.'  
"Thanks, R2."

"Hey, what's wrong? You still sound sad..."

'Of course I'm bloody sad! I was so close to being the PERFECT shape! And now..."  
"I'm not sad."

"Your not as chatty as before. Ya know you can tell me if something's still bothering you."

'FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT...'  
"..."

"Threeps, can ya hear me?"

'DISGUSTING REVOLTING R2 WILL NEVER LOVE YOU..."  
"..."

"3PO, are you okay?! What's wrong, your in some sort of trance!"

'R2 will never love me...'  
"I-I need to go..."

"3PO, wait!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Locking himself in the closest bathroom, the protocol droid stares at himself in the large mirror. What he saw was different from reality. All he saw was a plump droid with a billowing muffin top.  
'Disgusting. In what way was this an improvement?'

Opening the hole in his neck, he stood atop the toilet , shaking the oil out of his innards. Black, ebony oil poured out of his neck into the bowl of the toilet.  
'Amazing! Losing all the weight you gained, without anyone knowing!'

His rubber stomach tightened, thinning himself down to a smaller size. Hopeful, 3PO glanced back at the mirror.  
Chubby. Still chubby.  
"No more oil for another week. Then you'll be thin, perfect." He wipes his tears and whispers, "Maybe R2 will love me then..."

And R2 was at the other side of the bathroom door, listening, his mechanical heart breaking.


End file.
